Le Top Tip: How to get your child to want to wash their hair!

Last week I had the honor of babysitting my two nephews, Otto (5 ½-years-old) and Wade (3-years-old).  My mother and I took them to a fun pizza dinner in our local area and planned for a night of ‘red light, green light,’ tag, “bath time,” and then Toy Story 3!  Everything was going smoothly in our ‘adventures in babysitting,’ but I was a little anxious how my youngest nephew, Wade, would react to wanting to take a bath and wash his hair. My sister forewarned me that they are the typical two little boys who are not always exactly “excited” about bath time and can be a little stubborn about washing their hair. I appreciated my sister giving me the heads up, and brainstormed ways to make bath time fun!

1. Fun soap. I stocked up on two types of shampoo – Johnson & Johnson ‘no tears’ (so that Wade wouldn’t be scared to wash his hair) and another watermelon scented shampoo (to make showering fun and smells yummy!). You can get all kinds of soaps, bubble baths, and lathers for kids to make bath time more fun. You can also get soap in their favorite character bottle. They come in different scents, colors, foaming, or not foaming, etc. Help them have fun washing up with soap that is user friendly.
2. Bath songs. I tried to utilize the hand-held shower spray in the tub and tried to make bath time interactive. I sang “it’s raining, it’s pouring” with Otto and Wade and pretended the hand-held shower tool was a rain cloud ‘raining.’ Either make up a song, or look up “bath time songs” online for a list of ideas to help you progress through the various stages of cleaning your child with tunes.
3. Most kids do not want to take a bath if it is going to be boring, so make sure that they feel like they are involved, and get to make some of the decisions. I allowed each of them to hold the showerhead and let it “rain” on each other by washing away soapsuds! Kids will get into the fun of things if you sing a song about washing them up as you do so.
4. Lastly, I had dry wash cloths prepared for each of my nephews. As soon as I finished rinsing out the shampoo out of their hair, I gave them each a fresh and dry wash cloth to put over their eyes to help them feel more safe and comfortable that they could get the water and soap away from their eyes.

Voila! Two clean nephews and a fun and clean time!

Read Full Post »

Puppy Love!

Ollie, a West Highland white terrier, is my father’s dog.  Kind, patient, and very ‘kid friendly’ – Westies are a great breed.  This particular breed seems to be something of a family favorite. As a young child, my famly and I had a Westy and he was my best friend.  Above is an adorable picture of my nephew Josh playing with Ollie. I’m not sure who is enjoying the other more.  Either way it is a pretty cute site to see and great to see the tradition is still going strong.

shop Le Top’s fall/winter 2010 collection here
 <http://www.letop-usa.com/>

Read Full Post »

The Mark of a True Artist

Some of my fondest memories of childhood were drawing and coloring with my dad. My artistic talent came from him and so did my sister’s.  He used to tell us that when we were kids he knew we would be artistic too because we stuck our tongue out when we colored, and in his words “that is the mark of a true artist”.  My father still to this day sticks his tongue out when he is working on a project. This photo was taken by Captured with Love wedding photography. They managed to capture the perfect moment of a silly trait that has been passed down through generations.  This is a picture of my nephew Carson, who has been caught having “the mark of a true artist”.

Read Full Post »

Le Top Tip: Time Saving Snacks

I like to have snacks at my house for when my niece and nephew come to visit so I’m always on the lookout for individually packaged or partially prepped items. Babybel makes individually wax wrapped cheese that is really mild, so the kids like it (and we can make wax figures from the wrapping). Many grocery/warehouse stores sell pre-cut celery and carrots, so all I need to do is open the peanut butter or put a little ranch dressing in a dish. You can pick up pre-sliced apples in individual packs that are pretty good, but sometimes the ‘individual servings’ are too much for a four and six year old. That’s why my favorite little kid snack source is the 100 calorie snack packs from companies like Ocean Spray and Nabisco– not because I’m trying to keep my niece and nephew on a diet, but because the serving size is more appropriate for kids. (Plus, with things like cookies, it means they can have cookies but I don’t have to worry about them stealing extras when I’m not looking– they’d have to get a whole new package to get extra sweets.) 

The hidden bonus to pre-packaged snacks is that there’s practically no clean up.  If you don’t have to core the apples yourself, all you have to toss is their napkin and the little bag the apples came in.  Individual serving size packages tend to be a little more expensive than buying a whole bunch of celery or a big wedge of cheese, but it means that when my niece and nephew come over to visit, I already have snacks ready for them. No need to spend time cutting veggies or slicing off sections of cheese when I could be spending that time having fun. That extra half hour of snack prep time and 15 minutes of clean up could mean the difference between an afternoon at home and having the time to drive out to the Chabot Space and Science Center. 

Soda companies have also started making 100 calorie size soda cans.  I know that the soda/kids issue is a little controversial, but since Sprite and 7-Up make them too, I at least don’t have to worry about the caffeine…and the smaller cans are easier for kids to hold.

Read Full Post »

le•top Takes: Out of the Mouths of Babes!

No, I did not say that!

It was my nephew’s birthday party and it was time for gifts. I watched him as he happily opened each present, then frowned upon discovering it wasn’t what he was hoping for. So I asked him, “What’s wrong?”

“I didn’t get what I wanted.”

“What did you ask for?”

A time machine.”

– Noah, age 6

Editor’s Note:
Please spread the giggles by sharing your funny quotes with us!

Read Full Post »

le•top Takes: Out of the Mouths of Babes!

No, I did NOT say that!

One day, while at my parents’ house waiting for guests to arrive, I was sitting in the family room nursing my newborn son. I heard the doorbell ring, signaling that my brother and his family had arrived. My 6-year old nephew came barreling into the room, gasped and froze. Then said,

Oops! Sorry… I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were BEST-feeding!”

– Jordan, Age 6

Haha! Yes, little does he know that breastfeeding is the BEST.

Editor’s Note:
Please spread the giggles by sharing your funny quotes with us!

Read Full Post »

Le Top Takes: Out of the Mouths of Babes!

No, I did NOT say that!

Sneaky Spellings

My sister-in-law and nephew, Noah, were over for lunch the other day, and before serving him juice, I asked his mother first.

Me: Is it okay if I give him a J-U-I-C-E box?

Mom: Yes, that’s fine.

Noah: What’s J-U-I-C-E?

Mom: That’s “juice.”

Yes, I’d like to have some J-U-I-C-E then.”

– Noah, Age 5

Editor’s Note:
Please spread the giggles by sharing your funny quotes with us!

Read Full Post »

Baby Mia! Birthday Girl and Winner all in One Day!

Happy Birthday and Congratulations to lucky Mia and her mommy, Deanna

As reported earlier, our second le•top and rabbit moon Favorites Contest winner, Deanna J., went into labor and gave birth the day we announced her win! Her beautiful baby daughter, Mia was born on February 4. Isn’t she just precious?!? I suppose you could call it a birthday present that Deanna got $500 worth of our beautiful clothes for her daughter! Deanna chose lots clothes for her lucky little girl, but she also took the time to select a signature rabbit moon tracksuit for her nephew. Looks like all the kids in this extended family are going to be fabulously well-dressed!

Dreaming about her stylish wardrobe already! Mia will be ready in a few months to wear her dress from the rabbit moon Lacey Collection and one-piece from the le•top Buttons and Bows Collection

We can’t to see what happens with our next le•top and rabbit moon Favorites Contest winners…it’s so exciting! You have entered, haven’t you? The next winner will be announced tomorrow, and it could be you going on a virtual shopping spree to get $500 (retail value) worth of our fashionable children’s clothes from le•top and rabbit moon! Good luck!

Read Full Post »

Z’nuggle Up in Something Cozy

Desmond, the animal lover!

This is my nephew, Desmond. He LOVES animals! He goes crazzzzy every time he visits the zoo! So when I saw this little Z-Z-Zebra outfit from le•top, I thought “Zzzzweet!” because I knew it would be perfect for him.

There are so many things I like about this collection: First of all, the design is unique and original (as all le•top and rabbit moon clothing are). It’s not the traditional black & white zebra. It’s baby blue and olive (not the usual color palette you’d see in boy’s clothes), and it really works. I love it! Secondly, the fabric is velour, so it’s very soft and comfortable — feels like pajamas but they’re not. Who wouldn’t want to wear something so comfy? I wish I could walk around all day in something that felt like pajamas, but looks this fashionable. Thirdly, le•top’s sizing is spot on! My nephew is a big boy for someone who isn’t quite a one-year old yet, but this 12-month outfit fits him perfectly well! (I’ve also noticed that with my daughter’s clothes as well.)

le•top Z-z-zebra shirt and pant in velour in sizes 3 mos. to 4 toddler

Read Full Post »